A Whole New World
by BloodDrenchedRose
Summary: Storybrooke, Maine is a whole new world for Belle. She needs to learn as much as she can about this strange place.
1. Belle Attempts to Cook

**A/N: This is my very first OUAT/Rumbelle fic ever. The idea came to me on the ride home from picking up my nephew from school, and I just ran with it. There is no telling how many installments there will be, or even if these are the only two.**

**Summary: Storybrooke, Maine is a whole new world for Belle. She needs to learn as much as she can about this strange place.**

**I do not own Once Upon a Time. The characters and settings are not mine. Feel free to review and to maybe give me some new ideas on what to do with this piece.**

"**A Whole New World"**

**BloodDrenchedRose**

**PART ONE: Belle Attempts to Cook**

Belle French looked around the spacious kitchen, her brow furrowed as she contemplated this strange new place she was in. Storybrooke, Maine was totally different from Misthaven in every aspect, from the buildings to the clothes the townspeople wore. In the month she's been here, she's definitely learned a lot in this Land Without Magic (even though Rumplestiltskin changed that slightly). There were still a few things she was confused about.

Cooking was one of them.

Back in her days at the Dark Castle, Rumplestiltskin had ordered her to prepare the meals for each day. It was a task that took many weeks to learn since she had never stepped foot in her own kitchen at her father's castle. In fact, she had been chased out the few times she'd gone in there. From then on, she made do with the cookbooks found in the library. It was apparent that it's only one thing to learn from a book, yet another to do things by hand.

Rumple had done most of the cooking since Belle arrived in Storybrooke. Other times, they ate at Granny's Diner, where they ordered hamburgers and iced tea (Belle was addicted to both, even after a month) and conversed while exchanging warm smiles and slight caresses. But Belle wanted to do something special for her love tonight, a way of saying thanks for being so patient with her as she absorbed all of this new information.

Belle walked over to the cookbook she had placed on the kitchen counter not too long ago and flipped to a page that piqued her interest. After glancing at the ingredients, she smiled to herself. "Hm," she mused. "Seems easy enough." Her eyes shifted to the appliance to her left. "Now…to figure out how to work the stove…."

* * *

><p>He sighed as he closed the car door, gripping his cane tightly. It had been a long day of dealing with idiots who thought being an asshole was the best way to get what they want faster. If anything, it only made Gold want to dangle their possession so far above their heads that they couldn't even reach it with a ladder, then watch them flail around in a boiling rage until he got bored. Nobody messed with the Dark One. When will these fools ever learn?<p>

Each limp towards his front door made it seem like it was still miles away. There were days when he wished he'd never injured himself. But then he'd never have met his son, nor his darling Belle. This reminder made every cringing step worth it. Yes, he'd done so many terrible things in his life, but looking into those perfectly blue eyes made it all worthwhile.

Thinking about Belle made him smile. Twenty-eight years. Twenty-eight years of believing she was dead, and every day of it had torn him apart inside. But now she was here, waiting for him in the ugly pink house that used to feel so cold, so dark. Much like his heart. He never wanted to let him go again, no matter what. As he slid his key into the front door, he prepared himself for her warm smile, her gentle embrace, her loving kiss.

Instead, he found himself faced with a rather large cloud of smoke, and an incessant beeping.

"What in the seven realms?" he cursed between hacking coughs.

The extra person in the house had his same reaction, coughing and wheezing as she clattered around the kitchen. A few more clanks and a startled shriek had Gold rushing into the kitchen in an attempt to help.

"Rumple!" Belle's voice wheezed as she faced him. "You're home!"

"Never mind that, dearie," he replied. He waved his hand around, magic tingling his fingers, and relief washed over him as the house became quiet and the grey haze started to clear.

Belle coughed one final time, the sound squeezing his heart as she gazed into his eyes. "What was that noise?" she finally asked.

"That would be the smoke detector." Gold frowned as he looked at the debris that covered the stove. "What is this supposed to be, my love?"

The brown-haired beauty smiled sheepishly and gestured towards the blackened mess. "It was supposed to be spaghetti." She raised her shoulders in a defensive gesture that would have been adorable if the house hadn't nearly burst into flames. "Surprise!" she said weakly.

He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face as he realized his beauty's true intentions. Gold pulled Belle close and placed a kiss in her hair. "Not bad for your first try, dearie."

"But I ruined it," she replied as she buried her face into his shirt.

"Archie's dog Pongo needs something to eat anyway.

His love looked up at him again, her nose scrunched in confusion. "But what about dinner?"

Gold reached into his pocket and showed her his cell phone. "Let's get a pizza."


	2. Belle Drives a Car

**I do not own Once Upon a Time. All rights go to ABC Family and the creators of the show.**

**By the way, the lyrics used in the middle of the fic are from "Kiwi" from Maroon 5.**

"**CHAPTER TWO: Belle Drives a Car"**

The pawnbroker frowned as he glanced at his beloved. "Are you sure about this?"

Belle giggled excitedly. "Of course! Don't be so worried."

"I'm not worried," he mumbled. He sighed in resignation. "All right. Let's get started."

It happened to be a day off for Gold, and he wanted nothing more than to be in bed, snuggling with the love of his life. She, unfortunately, had other plans. In her quest to learn about the Land Without Magic they lived in, Belle asked him about cars. Within minutes, she was begging for him to teach her how to drive.

Gold's desire to please his beauty warred with his memories of Belle's attempt to cook last week. The kitchen bursting into flames was nothing compared to if it happened to a motor vehicle. Obviously, he couldn't resist her please much longer and he eventually caved.

So here they sat in his 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham de Elegance (Gold Edition, he thought with a wry smile), parked in a field that was 200 acres without a tree in sight. After Gold took the keys out of the ignition, he and Belle traded seats in the leather-interiored classic. Yes, it seemed stupid to take the keys out only for her to put them back in, but it was an essential skill she needed to learn if she was going to drive his car.

Hopefully without crashing it.

"So…" Belle began, "what do I do?"

"First—" he held out the keys—"you need to put these in the ignition."

Her dainty fingures gingerly grasped the metal object he extended towards her, cleverly inserting them in their original spot. Then she sat back. Her brow furrowed as she looked back at him. "Now what?"

The man hid a smile as he gave a small flourish of his hand. "You turn it." He gestured with a flick of his wrist.

Belle's lips formed a silent 'o' as she returned her hand to the key, then repeated the motion he had just demonstrated. The engine rumbled to life, the sound causing the woman beside him to laugh in delight. "I did it!"

"So far, so good," he answered. Gold gestured towards Belle's feet. "See those?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Those are the pedals. The one on the right is the accelerator. It helps the car go. The one on the left is the break. It makes the car stop."

The woman's blue eyes flashed in understanding. "Accelerator. Brake. Got it." Her eyes shifted to the radio. "What's this do?" she asked as her hand shot towards the power button before he could stop her.

"Belle, no!"

"_But it's so strange, it's something new_

_Amazing feelings that I have for you_

_I close my eyes when I'm alone_

_Wonder what it'd be like to make you moan"_

Godl reached out to turn the radio off, noticing Belle had turned a pretty shade of pink. He cleared his throat, barely able to squeeze the words past the lump in his throat. "Shall we?"

His beauty quickly turned her head towards him. "Wait. You mean…?"

"Driving, dearie," he bit out.

He didn't know it was possible for the girl to blush even more, but he was dead wrong. "Yes," she mumbled, "driving. Of course." She focused her eyes on the windshield. "…Now what?"

"Now you're going to put the car into gear. You put your foot on the break, your hand on the gearshift." Gold grasped Belle's wrist and brought her hand to the item in question and watched as her fingers wrapped around the stick. Shoving all inappropriate thoughts out of his head, he helped her shift the car into Drive. "Now. Let go of the brake."

The car started rolling slowly. That brilliant smile appeared on the princess's face again, her hands clasping the steering wheel. Her excitement was infectious, spreading to him like an airborne virus. Maybe this will go better than the cooking incident.

"Don't forget to use the accelerator," Gold reminded.

"Oh," she murmured.

A split second later, they were shooting forward like a speeding bullet, the scenery passing by them in a blur. "Turn, turn, turn!" became his mantra.

The wheel was jerked to the right all of a sudden. The needle of the speedometer climbed and climbed. 100mph. 120mph. 130mph. "Slow down!" he yelled.

"I don't know how!"

"Use the brake!"

"That's only for stopping!"

"Do it!"

A terrible screeching noise came from the car as Belle followed the order, grass and dirt flying every which way from the force of the tires. All was going well until—

"Watch out for the tree!" he shouted before he gasped the wheel and jerked it again. The looming brown-barked forestry zoomed closer and closer, the car not even slowing down enough for the impact to be graceful.

There was only one thing to do.

Gold extended a hand out, power zinging through his fingertips. The car became slower and slower, the speedometer reading 50, 30, 10….

_BAM!_

The force of inertia slammed them forward, then immediately reclined them again in their seats. Both Belle and Gold were panting for air, the adrenaline taking its time to fade out of their systems.

"Well," he said when he was able to breathe again. "_That_ is why we have seatbelts."

The only thing that greeted his comment was a giggle that warmed his heart. But one thing was certain.

From now on, Gold was the only one who would be driving any time soon.

**A/N: You will NOT BELIEVE how much research went into just looking at the car! The website I looked at first said it was a 1992 model, but when I went to look up pictures of the inside, I could only find images of the 1996 model. Fortunately for me, it also happened to be an automatic, which is the only thing I know how to drive. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed! I look forward to any ideas or comments you guys have.**


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